giant one more. gee >> a truck with loud back-up beepers just delivered a port-a-potty to the neighbors yard. >> don't you love that. i'm sorry, but at least you are up watching us. we'll take it. "morning joe" starts right now. >> never in our history has the united states defaulted on its debt. the debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the american people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners or oil and gas companies that are making billions of dollars because gasoline has gone up so high. >> all right. good morning. it is thursday, july 7th. a live look at times square in

new york city. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. he is back. hello. god. columnist for "the washington post" and news week contributor ezra klein. sorry you are next to him. keep your hands to yourself. john heilman, good to have you back. so, we are talking act -- did you see the twitter town hall? how did it go? >> it was tweety. >> did they have 140 people in the room? >> that's what i heard. visually, it was hilarious. obama would be in a chair and two people looking at their phones. >> i think it's a good idea. >> i saw one interesting thing. there was an analysis of the tweets. compared to the questions asked,

they are much less process focused. they want to know about education and the economy. not what do you think about what they said to cantor when there was an ad. >> how were the tweets chosen? at random? >> no, there were screeners looking, there were eight of them. >> hello, willie. i know there was one from speaker boehner. >> he sent like nine. all the same one, nine in a row. >> in a few hours president obama is expected to meet with house and senate leaders at the white house to hash out o deal to raise the debt ceiling. the president is considering major changes in social security and medicare as part of the deal in exchange for a fresh tax revenue. the president's plan cuts more than $4 trillion over the next

ten years. we'll talk about what that means. this is up from the original plan of $2 trillion in savings. it comes after president obama holds his first ever twitter town hall. he puts pressure on capitol hill to get a deal done. >> i don't think we should get to the constitutional issue. congress has a responsibility to make sure we pay our bills. we always paid them in the past. the notion the u.s. is going to default on its debt is irresponsible. my expectation is that over the next week to two weeks that congress, working with the white house, comes up with a deal that solves our deficit, solves our debt problems and makes sure our faith and credit is expected. >> the president tweeted answers to questions from all over the country including one from john boehner. after embarking on a record spending binge that's left us

deeper in debt, where are the jobs? here is how the president responded. >> obviously, john is the speaker of the house, a republican. this is slightly a skewed question. but, what he's right about is that we have not seen fast enough job growth relative to the need. we haven't gotten the kind of cooperation i would like to see on those ideas and initiatives. i'm going to keep on trying and eventualily the speaker will se the light. >> closing tax loopholes. speaking to reporters yesterday, house majority leader eric cantor said if the president wants to talk loopholes, we'll be glad to talk that. they must be offset by tax cuts.

we are not increasing revenue. it drew a sharp response from democrats. it would prevent them from getting tax cuts. before we get to bill clinton, did they budge? it's another way of saying no. >> imagine if democrats, they move saying no into a performance. 150 ways to say no. if democrats said we are for spending cuts as long as that money goes into new spending. i's not a compromise proposal. >> are we so skewed we don't see it? >> the real news, washington post and new york times has a similar story saying the president is going to propose at his meeting, cuts to medicare and social security, which is new. if he puts those on the table and republicans are still refusing to move on taxes, what happens then? >> i don't know what happens then but it certainly, the president is trying to show that

he is willing to go the extra mile to get a deal done here. >> right. >> he is talking about how by ruling out the notion of a short-term fix, he says we have to deal with the long-term issue here. some people, i know ezra has written about this, says how do we deal with the deficit problem in the next two weeks. the idea we are going to solve this problem. the president is now saying, look, i have said we are not going to deal with this in a short-term way. i want to deal with it in a long-term way. there is going to have to be some question of social security on the table. he is doing everything he can do to look like he's willing to go the extra mile and paint republicans. if this thing falls apart, god help us, he would be able to say i was willing to do whatever they wanted and they were not willing to make a deal. it's on them. >> is what the white house is

putting on the table significant and real enough for the democrats to be able to say we have given now you have to and if that's the case, the president can't fold, if that's the case. is it, ezra? >> we were at $2 trillion in spending cuts. now they are going after medicare, medicaid and social security. it's not clear how deep. we need to bring in the other part of the new york times story. it's strange but a true report that john boehner in a secret communication said he would be willing to raise up to $1 trillion in revenues through a tax reform mechanism. eric cantor is saying there's no way we are doing revenue. revenue is the important word. that's what this deal is going to hinge on. the obama administration would like a deal. can he do that and remain

speaker? >> it was a secret meeting and the white house won't say it took place. in a post piece they quoted democratic official claims to be familiar with the administration. they say the moments come along at most once in a decade. it would be bad if we let it pass us buy. >> john heilman is right. the president is giving more than the impression. he's providing rhetoric that he is willing to go the distance on cutting a big deal to take us through five to ten years, not just five or ten weeks. the problem, it seems to me, yesterday was a good example of it. you have questions tweeted to the president of the united states, questions delivered from the real world about housing problems, about i'm losing my house, my mortgage, what are we going to do. not policy questions from washington media members.

the problem is that the president is dealing with a number of people who don't live in the real world. for example, eric cantor. no matter how many times he's been on and how many times we talk about rescinding the bush tax cuts, he calls it a tax increase. go to the grocery store and milk is on sale for $3.25. the next week it goes up to $3.75. it's not a hike in price, it's reverting back to the original price. they don't live in the real world. they just don't. >> he'll be on this morning so you can ask him again. >> we will ask him again. >> i would like to ask him what it is they offered yesterday that was different. the president talked about boehner's question being skewed. i put the question to ourselves, are we skewed? i want to make sure we are being as open minded as possible. i don't see it. >> i had the center on budget

run numbers on the debt deals from the '90s. george bush's deal -- we had a good time. >> wow. >> this is what i do on weekends. >> awesome. >> george h.w. bush was two-thirds spending cuts. clinton was a little less than two spending cuts to one in taxes. what obama already put on the table is more like 5 to 1. if you look at the numbers, this is more skewed. because of bush tax cuts, we are starting at a lower tax level than clinton or bush. this is very, very far to the right compared to the '90s. >> if you look at the '90s, this is a good mesh. there was not controversy. there was trover by george herbert walker bush's going back

on the read my lips. there was no party or complete consistency that we can never discuss revenues in 1990 or 1995, 1996. >> bill clinton weighed in on this debate, once again. he's calling republicans hypocrites. he was speaking to college students yesterday. he says something has to get done on the debt now. >> nobody is talking about one of the central points that everyone who analyzed the situation makes including the bipartisan simpson-bowles commission that says you shouldn't do any of this until the economy is clearly recovery. if you do things that damper economic growth, there's a good chance economic activity will go down so much that tax revenues

will be reduced more than spending is cut and their deficit will increase. >> john. >> i think we should always listen to bill clinton about everything. if that's his view, that should be the rule of law. >> does the president risk, ezra, as he proposes the new cuts to medicaid and medicare going too far and losing democrats? he's trying to get republicans to come from the right but if he drifts too far. >> it's a hard point. what they want to do is prove without a shadow of a doubt they are doing what they can to get the yes. they are succeeding that. david brooks said the republican party is becoming an abnormal party. they are the deal of the century. they get a conservative columnist to say that. you don't end up in the center. you have to be on the right. you have to offer the deal of the century. when the deal goes down, i don't think you are going to see a lot of happy democrats going around.

>> what happens if john boehner says this sounds good, i think we'll get something done and he has 60 to 70 members of his caucus say no, no, we're not going along with it. >> if that's all he has, i will be shocked. >> you think there will be more? >> he had 50 or 60 during the government shutdown stuff. there was no revenue there. i would be shocked if that's as far as the defections go. >> as much as we look at this and focus on president obama and his political fortunes, all of these moments leading up to the moment is an extraordinary moment for john boehner. as you saw yesterday with the report in the new york times and eric cantor coming out, that is the leadership battle. eric cantor is waiting for the moment john boehner tried to be responsible, cuts a deal, then causes him to lose the support of his kau sus and a battle for the speakership.

boehner is in a political precarious situation. he's making calculations that will affect his legacy going forward. it's almost as difficult a position as president obama. >> new hampshire voters are not sat satisfied with his handling of the economy. the last time more new hampshire voters approved was october of 2009. meanwhile, the backdrop of all of this as the 2012 field, the republican field. fund raising figures, former massachusetts governor, mitt romney leading the pack by a significant number. he raised $18.25 million compared to ron paul 4.5 to $4.6 million. minnesota governor tim pawlenty with $4.2 million and jon

huntsman with $4.1 million. trailing them, herman cain with $2.5 million, newt gingrich 2 million. michele bachman will release hers later. >> which candidate should be excited? ron paul is incredible. which should be more concerned? >> no one on the list should be excited about their numbers. mitt romney, by virtue of the fact he's so far ahead has the least reason to be freaked out. the story of the fund raising of all these numbers is the story of closed wallets and the story of how -- >> yes, some are waiting still. >> so much of the republican donor class is still sitting with checkbooks closed, unhappy with the field, not writing checks, still waiting for

something. i don't know what. they have not been -- this is not a show of great enthusiasm. the president is vulnerable. they work in the field and they are not thrilled about any of these guys. >> an incredible time of opportunity, that is sure. >> for a lot of that quarter, tim pawlenty was considered a front-runner. he was the alternative to mitt romney. that pitch didn't resinate at all. he's closer to raising money than herman cain. >> i was struck over the weekend. i saw a couple rich republicans doing yard work around their homes. >> doing yard work at your home. >> they almost have like a defeatist attitude when they talk about the upcoming elections. do you think there's anybody that can beat obama? it's interesting. we have a big show,

representative eric cantor will be our guest. also, larry david will be here on the set. we are excited about that. up next, politico's top stories of the morning. pretty, pretty good. >> pretty exciting. >> i love that one. michele bachmann unveiling the first tv ad. we'll look at it. first, let's go to bill karins with a check on the forecast. bill. >> good morning, mika. i like the one with larry and he picks on the weather man. the weatherman always went golf when he predicted rain. today, if you are going to do anything outdoors, do it early this afternoon. showers and storms. it's a warm morning. temperatures 74 from new york to d.c., already. not everyone is going to get hit by the storms. they will be scattered.

worst spot, kansas city. rain is about to move in. it will be with you for much of the morning commute. hot in oklahoma and texas. what else is new? down in florida, showers and thunderstorms today. tomorrow, we are watching the atlantis launch. it does not look good. 70% chance rain and thunderstorms will delay the launch. it's scheduled for 7:26 a.m. ♪ ♪ hey, dad, you think i could drive? i'll tell you what -- when we stop to fill it up. ♪

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22 past the hour, boys. it's time to be on the air now. >> okay. >> do you want to share with the class what you were talking about? >> no.

>> are you sure? time to look at "the new york times." building boom in china is stirring fears. it will take new york city two years to build the subway line. the largest city plans to complete a subway system with 140 miles of track. there's plans for an office tow er. yeah. >> it's going to be good. whitey bulger pleaded not guilty yesterday for the murders of 19 people. also, his attorney told the judge, if he did not appear to be suffering from alzheimers as some of his former neighbors suggested. >> washington post pays for for south korea's olympic bid. the city was chosen.

opening ceremonies are 2400 days away. >> i have done the math. >> have you? >> they are 13 hours ahead. when we go to cover it, our show will be on at 7:00 p.m. finally, we get a night show. >> we get a prime time show. a promotion. >> it's seven years away. >> do you think we'll still be here? i don't know if i'll be here next week. >> let's go to politico. mike allen is standing by with a look at the playbook. good morning, mike. >> good to see you guys. >> i understand you have michelle bachmann's first ad. let's take a look. >> as a descendent of iowans i was born and raised in waterloo. now, a small business job creator, we can't keep spending money we don't have. i fought against a wasteful bail

out and the stimulus. i will not vote to increase the deficit. i'm michele bachmann and i approve this message. >> first impression? what's the message? >> it begins running statewide in iowa today. i was interested in the fact it takes a very upbeat, softer approach than the harsh portrayal you get of bachmann and her iowa roots. she's making a big push. i thought it was very fascinating she goes hard on, she talks the deficit and wasteful bailout. it's a strong term. i will not vote to increase the debt ceiling. it gives a sense of where she thinks republican voters are and the most fascinating moment was nothing you heard, but something you saw. the slate at the end where she

says michele bachmann. the choice that will beat obama. she, like romney, already looking ahead to the general election. >> have you been impressed by her roll out? >> very impressive. to not forget or to put it in political perspective, i know the bail out and the stimulus is unpopular. if we hadn't had them, we would have 16% or 17% unemployment in this country. it would have been a financial not crisis, but meltdown. you can't campaign against popular policies, but that person would be a bad president if a financial sector melts down again. i don't think we are out of the woods. >> even with the acoustic guitar in the background? john, how is she doing out

there? >> she's doing incredibly well. talk about the power of good professionals around you. she's got good people. advertising people, polling people. they have done an incredible job packaging her and making her more palettable to all of us than she was six months ago. it's been an incredible turn around. >> has the discipline impressed you at all? >> she has. she's demonstrating that she can be a more mainstream. in terms of her presentation, not what she believes. here is her presentation and she's willing to do the work to listen to people telling her how to do that. as candidate skills go, that discipline is something you rarely see. they tend to be who they are. >> mika, you sound skeptical. >> i'm not sure.

i wondered if we would be talking about a guy being packaged -- >> yeah. >> male. >> i think so. >> who? >> i think if you had a candidate perceived as -- >> why? >> i can't cite someone for you. >> i can't think of anything, either. we talk like they need a make over. >>edwards, 2008 had that. people said he had done the work. he was a light candidate in 2004. >> that's different. we are talking performance and camera skills and addressing and acting. that's what you are talking about. >> in terms of packaging, i'm talking staying on message, in terms of discipline as opposed to what you would say four or five months ago that sounded crazy. now, she is right on message, narrowly focused. >> wasn't she saying things

months ago about if barack obama was pro-america? they were extreme statements. you don't hear a word coming out of her mouth that doesn't sound like common sense. it may not be but it sounds like it. >> through the new packaging, there are a lot of things she said in the past that she's going to be held accountable for. >> right. she continues to have terrible relations with republicans on the hill. that will hurt as well. >> mike allen, thanks so much. talk to you soon. >> have a great day. the new warning about the next threat in airline travel. terrorists may try a new way of concealing explosives. this is a bizarre one. plus, the florida marlins show they are just not used to winning. a walk-off celebration fail, next on "morning joe."

33 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." the transportation security administration warning airlines

to beef up security with more patdowns and more use of full body scans among other measures after receiving intelligence terrorists may surgically implant explosives to carry out attacks. jay carney says the intel that led to it does not relate to an eminent threat. travelers heading from the u.s. abroad may notice screeners taking additional precautions. the federal aviation releasing video from a southwest airlines flight forced to make a landing. faa worked to get the plane on the ground after a six foot hole ripped open in the fuselage during a trip from phoenix to sacramento. the pear led to what the faa called a rapid control decent in altitude from 36,000 to 11,000 feet. pilots wanted to return to

phoenix. they soon realized the airport was too far away. >> would you like to go to palm springs? >> let's make a turn and go to -- how far away -- >> houma is at your 35 position and 50 miles. >> we'll take yuma. >> they were able to land safely at that military base in yuma. >> always impressed by the calm in their voices. >> yeah. rapid control decent. >> you don't want to be in a rapid control decent. it's better than a rapid uncontrolled decent. >> i have been in one for 20 years. >> that's a different story. all right, time for sports. >> of course the lead sports

story, derek jeter, wow! another hit last night. 2,997 hits. three away to become the first yankee with 3,000. the entire story captivated on hbo. >> think it will get there by sunday? >> that's weird but okay. >> get to real stars. >> good guy, too. how many children did he yell at? >> he's going to get his at home. it's a good thing. >> he's got four games at home now. all right. games last night defending champs san francisco at home against the padres. top of the sixth, guzman drops one. a grab. best ballpark in the country, guys. >> one of two.

pittsburgh is great. >> runners on the corners. sandoval brings them home with an rbi double. ninth inning game tie. this time on defense. a game-saving stop and throw for the third out. that ends the padre rally and we go to extra innings. bottom of the 14th. jacks one into the bay. out into the cove. his second home run of the night. giants win, 6-5 in 14 innings. the quick healing albert pujols. a wrist injury. jay bruce with a two-run home run. >> broken wrist. >> he's a quick healer. st. louis fights back in the seventh. pujols singles to the left. a one-run game. he was 1 for 6 in his return. bottom of the ninth now. john jay drives it deep to right center.

makes its way up into the stands. an eight-run deficit to force extra innings. jay bruce scores by pinch hitter ramon hernandez. jay with one more chance for the cardinals but he's caught looking by chapman. sitting him down for the final out. 101 miles an hour on the last pitch. the nats at extra innings between the phillies and south florida.

going to hit a walk-off home run into the vacant left field. one guy there. he got it. >> you can build a condo there. >> marlons haven't been winning lately. that's what happens. they tried the pie in the face game. they fail three times. finally, he just lets them do it. it's getting embarrassing. >> how many pies do they have waiting? >> they are shaving cream pies. they put it in a towel. you are going to like this one, mika. on the set, cell phones will ring. >> that's only when my kids all. >> it happens. >> imagine you are playing one of the best tennis players. have a friend call your cell phone. this is match point. about to advance in straight sets when someone's cell phone goes off. she's annoyed. is anybody going to turn off their phone.

the phone belonged to her opponent. it was ringing in her bag. she runs over embarrassed, turns off the phone. she was eliminated. >> she was eliminated because she lost? >> yes. she was getting creamed. >> that's a bummer. >> because her cell phone rang? >> disqualified. breech offeette quit. signs of knock si at work can be a messy process. it's coming up in news you can't use. with bengay pain relief plus massage

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$2 trillion is the spending cut debated in washington. it's a big number but needs perspective. first these cuts are designed to eliminate unconstitutional programs. it's an i cross the board trim that maintains the status quo. second, it's not really a cut of $2 trillion. it's a series of smaller projected cuts over ten years. this year's portion is around $200 billion, less than we pay in interest on the massive federal debt. third, the cuts reduce baseline spending. in other words, spending increases even with the cuts. all told, this $2 trillion cut actually means a spending increase of $1.8 trillion. >> all right. depressed yet?

that is arguing how cutting $2 trillion doesn't cut wasteful spending but trims around the edges. ezra, is that fair? >> there's no more scary music than useful information there. >> what was useful? >> they don't know what spending cuts are on the table. they are not in the meetings. some things are capped. we are going to have defense spending and war spending. they are real cuts. >> isn't the point that the cuts we are talking about are almost negligible? >> people think to get down to sustainable levels we need a $4 trillion cut. $2 trillion is half way there. it's significant. if that puts us where the market needs to be and where as the economy comes back we don't have a private sector crowd out, that is good enough.

the deficit is not a moral issue. it's an economic issue. we need to make sure it lines up. >> that's a big argument. >> thank you for your contribution this morning. >> must read opinion pages. >> back to sleep. >> john boehner's debt dilemma. speaker boehner would either court a rebellion against leadership or push the country toward default on debt. they shamelessly stoked the tea party to win power. the gop is is now reaping the whirlwind. they were saying he can't go home if he gives in on revenue. is that true at this point? i guess, again, this may be skewed thinking on my part. won't the republicans look like

they are not willing to give a little bit for the good of the country? >> john boehner could go home himself to his relatively safe seat in ohio. there has been discussion among tea party people, but the broader point, for a lot of republicans the dynamic in the republican party is, if you show any sign of compromise or what some say is reasonableness, you will get primaried on your right. there are a lot of republicans in the house whose attitude is not only do they believe in principle, but they recognize in political terms, if they give in, they will get a challenge. nobody in politics wants to be primaried. there's a lot of incentive to maintain the hard line, even if it is for the country's future. >> the other guy, speaker boehner, he's a man of government and politics. he's got a huge percentage of

members of his party who are members of neither, government or politics. they are interested in one thing, towing to an ideological line that could end his speakership. >> this is why when i see reports that john boehner and barack obama met on a helicopter or on the top of a mountain and said maybe we'll do a revenue deal. i don't know how to take that. i don't see any reason to believe that boehner can bring his party on that, at this point. eric cantor walked out of negotiations saying i'm not going to do taxes. if boehner wants to do it, it's his funeral. does boehner want to go to his own funeral? does he want to set the date for it. >> try to balance deficits by cutting antipoverty initiatives, college scholarships and investments in young people and the future or also see tax increases from those best able

to afford them? do we really want to close down the american government and risk a financial crisis to protect the tax bills of billionaires? >> i know my answer to the question. >> yeah. i don't understand, is it only you and me who can see that and democrats? really, honestly, this is not simple math that we all need to come together. >> there was a report on another show on this network about various states around the country starting in the fall school days -- kids are going to go to school four days a week rather than five days a week. everyone in the country understands our school year needs to be longer to make the kids learn and be competitive. we are saying we can't afford to send our kids to school five days a week. we have too much. we need awe stairty and we would rather not give tax increases on the wealthy. we would rather have the kids go

to school four days a week. it's crazy. it's crazy. it's crazy. >> help me argue this. >> the republican side is that tax increases are to make you focus on the rich, the billionaires. >> we're not talking about that when talking loopholes and different revenue enhancers. we shaved it down. >> bush's chief economist will tell you, as a republican, the best way to do taxes is expenditures. greenspan will tell you it's spending. this has become an article of faith. it's internal party. it's not economics anymore. >> you know who needs to explain this to us? eric cantor. we are going to bring him in. plus, new video just in. the running of the bulls day one. news you can't use is next. ♪

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oh, yes. is it time? >> it is time. running of the bulls. festival officials calling it a

clean run, whatever that means. >> i know what it means. >> what do you got? >> you wash before you run. >> mike, bringing your c game today. two people hurt. it's apparently a clean run. >> why would you do that? >> anybody done this, at this table? i don't know how people do it. they fly half way across the world to do it. >> why would you do that? i ask budget questions for fun. >> that's more fun than i'm prepared to have. as you know, we are spreading democracy around the world to places like afghanistan. here is what it looks like in afghanistan. a parliamentary brawl between two women. one in support of karzai, the other not in support of him. get the shoe up there. the other gets a water bottle. they watch them brawl before anyone steps in.

it's a fine start. it's a young democracy. here is how you really want to do a parliamentary brawl. we have taiwan. that's pretty good. >> i remember this one. >> how about ukraine. >> oh, furniture. >> they kick down the door. chairs are going to fly there. >> do we have a winner? >> georgia. georgia. that's nice. that's a good one. there's a chair. you always want to get a chair involved. it's a city council meeting. how about south korea. let's do one more. look at him holding his ground. holding his ground. >> okay. ridiculous. what is your point here, willie? >> i don't have a point. >> we used to have good brawls. >> footage or re-enactment. >> a waste of time. >> did you hear about the picasso that was stolen? >> what happened? >> he steals a 1965 picasso

pencil sketch valued at 200,000 bucks. security camera catches him walking in, covers it with a sheet and hops in a cab. no dramatic move, nobody got hurt. he walked out with that. >> that is cool. >> it is cool. what do you do with that? ezra has a few theories about drug dealers. >> i have heard it's used for collateral in criminal activities because it's not easily trackable. >> thank you, ezra. >> where would you dump it? i'm not running a drug ring, i don't know. >> that was all useless. seriously. you wasted three minutes of air time. >> that's the idea. thank you. we are very up front about it.

>> let's end this. eric cantor, next on "morning joe."

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will we be the kind of country that protects tax breaks for the richest people and corporations while sacrificing

seniors and middle class? that is what the republicans are proposing. those priorities are simply backwards. >> until now, the president's proposals have been inadequate. it's ludicrous to raise hundreds of billions in taxes at a time millions are looking for work. does the president think the economy is doing so well that unemployment is so low and so rapid that we can take billions of dollars away from these same job creators? >> top of the hour. cool shot of new york city. mike barnicle and ezra klein is with us. steve rattner is back with us. good to bring you in for these discussions. we have democratic congressman, rep sresentative keith ellison.

president obama is expected to meet with leaders at the white house to hammer out a debt ceiling deal. the meeting comes as "the washington post" reports the president is considering changes in social security and medicare as part of the deal in exchange for republican support on taxes. the plan would cut more than $4 trillion over the next ten years. this is up from the original plan of $2 trillion in savings. let's stop there before we get to the president's twitter town hall. rattner, steve rattner, you think in is a big headline on what the white house is putting on the table? >> i think it's a very big headline. as the report said, the president proposed $2.4 trillion including tax increases. now he's trying to go for $4 trillion. i don't know that we know whether that is pure policy and a desire to do the right thing. i think it's clear the president

wants to get beyond 2.4 trillion. i don't think he wants to be fighting the budget ceiling in the middle of an election when he's fighting an opponent who has nothing to do with it. they are attacking from the rear. i think the clear strategy is get past the $2.5 trillion he needs to get through the election. as you talked on this show, it's going to take major concessions from the republicans. we look forward to eric cantor to find out what he's saying and what he thinks. did boehner open the door to revenue, is cantor closing the door? we need the answer to that question. >> congressman, what would it mean to you if the report is true the president of the united states is proposing cuts to medicare, medicaid and social security. is that palatable to you? >> no, i find it distressing. i want to know exactly what the president is talking about. i don't want to prejudge.

on its face, it's not good. the issue is putting americans back to work. investing in infrastructure, public jobs, things like that. if we had more taxpayers, we would have more revenue. that's the direction we need to go after. n not whittle away the american dream. i think medicare part d should be allowed to negotiate drug prices. we should make sure we get the most for the medicare dollar. i think we shouldn't be looking at trying to disadvantage seniors and making them pay the cost of two wars, tax breaks for the wealthiest americans and a lot of wasteful spending, in my opinion that's taking place over the last 10 to 12 years. the seniors didn't do it. they gave us a great america,

yet we are trying to make them pay for mistakes that happen. >> i don't know if that's fair. is that what's happening? >> i think it is. >> can anyone say today's seniors are going to be impacted greatly and tremendously by what the white house is putting forward? >> nobody is paying for the wars. the question for the congressman is we have this massive debt. i'm not sure i understood how you would close the gab. what would be your proposal to deal with the deficit? >> let's start with clinton tax rates. this is a time america was very prosperous. get us out of the wars at an accelerated rate. let medicare drop rates. get a public option which is a saver. according to the people's budget, which is progressive caucus introduced, balance the budget by 2021.

under our proposal that is fiscally sound, this is the way to go. we have to remember, there is greater tax revenue because of more people working that's going to grow us out of the deficit. you can't cut your way out of the deficit has been acknowledged. the revenue is going to come from how we structure the budget and getting more americans back to work. there's over $2 trillion of needs this country had. we can put people back to work right away. get the cement pourers back to work. this allows us to put more money in the caucus of the government. >> ezra. >> struck by the gap of what the house wanted. what you are seeing in the senate with a 50/50 split between taxes and spending cuts and what is on the table. the president offered in the

last round, 83/17. what is the ratio you think they will get. some of you need to vote with the republicans to get it to pass. is there talk of a bottom line here? >> the fact is, we need to redirect the entire conversation. we just really don't like the way the whole dialogue is going. we are focusing on what we are going to cut, how we are going to whittle down the american dream. i want to talk about how we are going to get more people working again. good jobs. this is the kind of thing i think is going to get us back to what we believe. if you look at how we got out of the deficit situation and the surplus, it's because we had low rates of unemployment and low rates of people in poverty. when are we going to begin the conversation of making sure that we are putting americans back to work through infrastructure,

public jobs, things like that. this is the proper strategy. >> one of the demands would be seamless. >> yes. the fact is, we hear from the republicans all the job creators, the folks referred to as job creators. with $2 trillion in corporate profits they are sitting on, they are not creating jobs. we have to make sure that businesses know there are consumers who can buy their services and goods. that means putting people back to work to have enough confidence to make the purchases to stimlaulate the economy. >> in the real word, there's not going to be a budget for the clinton era tax rates -- >> there should be. >> let's deal with the real world rather than how it should be. >> the real world you are talking is a world created by

political rhetoric. it's real because you say it's real. we can create another reality by saying that jobs need to be what we are focused on. >> unfortunately, the republicans control the house at the moment. >> democrats control the senate and the white house. and most americans want to see the most wealthy americans taxed at a higher rate. >> congressman, let me try to bring you back to what i think you are going to be faced with somewhere down the road. there's going to be a budget proposal that doesn't include returning to the tax rates or stimulus spending. there's a modest amount of revenue enhancers or whatever you want to call them, combined with a couple trillion dollars including some in social security and medicare. will you vote for that? >> no. >> okay. there's your answer. we are going to talk to eric cantor coming up. we have a lot of questions for him. some of them pretty tough.

i want to make sure we are being as politically honest as possible. when it comes to the cuts the president is putting on the table, social security and medicare, are you talking about today's seniors being hurt or are we talking legitimate proposals we have heard before that don't go far enough on social security? >> good question. if you look at the proposed cuts to medicaid, it's clear people in nursing homes today will be hurt. it's clear there's a lot of pain that will be suffered for people receiving services now. you are referring to the riot proposal that people under 55 will bear the reductions. if you look at the proposal around medicaid, there are people who will be out in a fairly short order. i think it's important to bear these things in mind. we are not talking medicare proposals to kick in down the

road. we are talking medicaid cuts that are going to happen soon. this is something i think that i would love to see you all focus on more. >> i'm in agreement with the medicaid cuts. if you go to the providers you will see a rejection of patients, which you are already seeing. there's an argument house democrats won't look at the entitlement programs particularly the ones for seniors. it seems wrong to me. there's means testing and higher tax rates in medicare put in as part of the health care reform bill. most house democrats voted for it. is the question not so much whether you can touch entitlements but how to do it? >> you have a good point. i mentioned i would be for medicare reform in the area of allowing part d to negotiate drug prices. that, to me, is reform. we know there's a lot of fraud and abuse in the medicare program. i want to see more service to seniors, less money going out to

people who are not doing the right thing. social security actually is not contributing to the deficit. it loans us money. so, at the end of the day, all the discussion about how we are going to cut social security is very distressing to me, again. i don't think social security is the problem. if we want to have reform there, why not raise the cap higher? why have one? this is unequitable saying you only pay up to $100,000. it's a value issue. so far, in our conversation this morning, we talked about how we are going to whittle down the basic promise of americaso that the richest americans can keep, you know, perks for themselves like loophole tax cuts on corporate jets and big oil keeps their subsidy. when are we going to have some equity, shared sacrifice?

we are asking the poorest americans to sacrifice. when are the wealthiest americans going to step up and contribute and deal with the budget deficit? >> we are going to ask the republican leader coming up. having said that, hearing you talk, congressman, you realize we are nowhere in some ways. what's that? >> you said utah, i'm from minnesota. >> yeah. thank you for being on the show. congressman keith ellison. >> did i say utah. >> no. >> sorry about that. thanks for being on the show. up next. president obama proposing social security cuts. what will republicans offer perhaps in return or perhaps what will the response be? we'll ask congressman eric cantor next. larry david will be here. first bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> good morning. as far as the forecast, the heat

and humidity continues with the thunderstorms out there. if you are doing anything outdoors this afternoon, that's the best time to get drenched. if you are hitting the lakes or doing anything fun, you are fine this morning. late afternoon storms. 90 to 95 today from new york down to d.c. the travel trouble spot continues to be kansas city. you'll have a wet morning commute. the rest of the country very hot. temperatures remain. 102 to 103 degrees. florida is where we are watching the best chance of showers and thunderstorms continuing as we go throughout your afternoon. you are watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. >> i have a sneaking suspicion that you are predicting rain to clear the golf course for yourself. >> oh, my god. that's ridiculous. >> ridiculous? it's happened before. >> first of all, i'm not a weather man.

i'm a meteorologist. >> excuse me. >> there's a low pressure system along the coast. the jet stream brings it to the area. the jet stream is controlled by the rotation of the earth. you moe who controls that? god. >> there's a jet stream of bull [ bleep ] coming out of your mouth. >> was he really a weather guy? >> no. [ grunts ]

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any country anywhere that has its debt escalating creates doubt about its sustainability. that's why the president fought so hard. they stressed repeatedly when the plane is overloaded you take out the luggage, not the engine. also there are values in how you do deficit reduction. we don't believe debt reduction should be done in a way that puts all the burdens on the working poor or middle class or

seniors. it's got to be shared sacrifice. that means asking those most well off or with the most agreenlgous tax breaks to be part of the solution in giving deficit reduction. >> at 19 past the hour, welcome back to "morning joe." joining us, republican congressman from virginia and the house majority leader eric cantor. good to have you on the show this morning. >> good morning. >> here we go. let's see what we can get done here. curious, the white house the president put social security on the table, correct? he's put medicare on the table. it's care actorized. will they bring something to the table they have not brought before? >> i'm looking forward to hearing what the president says at the white house. we always said we want to do what is necessary to try to

bring the deficit and debt into balance. if we can get the fiscal house in order here in washington, people can start to get to work back at home. >> you say we want to do what is necessary, but you were saying also that in terms of closing loopholes, they must be acomp anied by offsetting tax cuts and you are not for increasing revenue. is that doing what is necessary to work out a deal? is that coming to the table as much as the white house appears to be? >> mika, we have to remember the context within which we are operating. you have unemployment at over 9% officially. you have to focus on the priority here. that is to get people back to work. when the proposal is to raise more revenues, that money doesn't come out of thin air. you are going to take money from people that you are in business, that you are relying on to create jobs.

the approach thus far, we have gotten together on both sides of the aisle where we have a blueprint in place and have trillions of dollars in place to get the debt and deficit down. >> ezra klein. >> agreeing the money never comes out of thin air, if we go to all spending cuts, unemployment insurance, medicaid and with 15 million out of work, it's tough. i wanted to ask you, in the new york times it appears speaker boehner had a meeting with president obama. he said if he's willing to put the entitlements on the table, he's willing to go up to $1 trillion in tax reform? can you support that? >> all of us support that. we want to lower rates. i think most people would say you are going to have a better

environment for job creation. i can tell you one thing, we are united as republicans to say now is not the time to raise taxes. i have talked to the speaker. he is not for increasing taxes. >> no net revenue out of increasing taxes? >> the only kind of situation i think you are going to see is a growing economy. we have to focus on the things we have to do. that's get the fiscal house in order. let's put small business at a position where they are going to grow again. when they grow, more people go back to work and you see an up tick in revenue. >> steve rattner. >> you know as well as any of us, getting things done in washington need a compromise. it falls on people of a lesser means of one form or another. i don't see how you get this passed without a balanced

package without revenue increase. you can call it what you want, but closing loopholes on individuals seem to be what's necessary politically to get this done. are you -- just to get you on the record, are you saying you will not support any budget compromise that includes net revenue increases? >> well, what i said yesterday was in response to the president's statement that it's a priority for him to close the corporate loopholes as far as people who own jet aircrafts. that's never been the issue that's hung up progress in town. if the president wants to talk jet owner loopholes, that's $3 billion over ten years. we are talking trillions in savings. if the president wants to talk loopholes, we need offsetting tax cuts somewhere else. we are not for raising taxes. it's not the right thing to do when you have a sputtering economy and so many people out of work.

>> there are different ideologies. i want to take someone else's question. nick, this is the other side asking you the question, representative cantor. do we try to balance budget deficits by cutting antipoverty initiatives in young people and our future or also seek tax increases from those best able to afford them? do we really want to close down the american government and risk another global financial crisis to protect billionaires. do you see the narrative building and do you worry about that? is that a moral question in your mind? >> first of all, no one wants to see america not pay its bills. that's why we are going to the white house to begin a final stage of putting a deal together. i can tell you, this narrative that may or may not be developing is missing something. what it's missing is the people in this country on tough times right now. the best thing for them and what

they want is a job. we have to focus on first things first. you have spending too much money at the federal level. how can you sustain borrowing over 40 cents of every dollar you spend? we are trying to address the problem that is the overspending in washington and trying to create an environment where people on tough times can see opportunity grow again and get back to work. >> how can you accept the cuts the white house is putting on the table without giving back in return? >> mika, the insinuation is that these are easy cuts. obviously, they are going to affect real people. >> that's correct. >> at the end of the day, what we are trying to do is create an environment where more people have the opportunity to get back to work. money doesn't come from nowhere. if the president is interested in going after billionaires, my response is fine. if it's important to him, we will respond and say let's plug

loopholes and yes, we want to get rid of the preferences. our job says let's simplify the code and bring down corporate rates and individual rates to be more competitive and see jobs grow again. that's the long-term goal. right now, we have a situation we have to address the issue of the debt ceiling and first things first, let's get the spending under control. the trillions of dollars that have been identified through the biden talks provide the basis for what i believe is a fair deal for us to go about trying to address the fiscal imbalance. >> john heilemann. >> do you thinkitis a real deadline and if it's not met, there will be real serious consequences? >> i always took the treasury secretary words when he said it's august and we need to act

by then. i believe there are serious consequences. we are looking at this in a responsible manner and trying to begin to make a down payment on managing down the debt and deficit. >> ezra klein. >> in march, your joint economic committee saying successful debt spending composed of 85% spending cuts and 15% revenue increases. what happened between march and now that made that no longer operative? can you tell me? >> i don't think i have ever been for increasing revenues in this kind of economy, especially. we have a problem here in washington. that is, taxpayer dollars are not being accounted for in a fashion that i believe most americans are expected to account for their own money. this is their money. what we are trying to say is, let's begin to manage down the debt and deficit. let's stop borrowing and

spending so much and get a handle on this to grow the economy. i don't believe there's been any change in our position. we don't support tax increases. we support trying to bring down the debt and receive sit. >> simple, the president moved and the republicans will not. it seems nothing will get done. i mean -- >> mika, i think yesterday was very clear. the president insinuated it's a priority for him to plug the corporate jet loophole. i said fine, plug the loophole just make sure they are offsetting tax cuts somewhere else. we have to come together to agree. i go back to the results of the biden talks that identified over $2 trillion in cuts. let's start there and make the down payment, let's not put burdens on small business people by raising taxes. >> eric cantor, thank you very much for coming on the show and putting forward your position.

good luck at the white house. >> thank you. >> co-creator of seinfeld and star of curb your enthusiasm larry david is here. "morning joe" will be right back. [ male announcer ] do you know how you will react when someone changes lanes without warning? or when you're distracted? when you're falling asleep at the wheel? do you know how you'll react? lexus can now precisely test the most unpredictable variable in a car -- the driver. when you pursue perfection, you don't just engineer the world's most advanced driving simulator. you engineer amazing. ♪

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making the generalization

about me, but i'm not like a first class person. i'm coaching. >> you're not acting ko ining cu are acting first classy. >> i'm not wrong. >> i'm sure you're not. suck you would be up there in first class if somebody bought you a ticket. coachy girl is so jealous. >> i just want to be somewhere. >> okay. that was a scene from the new season of "curb your enthusiasm" and larry david joins us now. she's hysterical. >> i was trying to use the bathroom in first class and it was locked. then i went back to coach and she stopped me and wouldn't let me use it. >> you feel like a fish out of

water? >> on this panel? >> yeah. >> absolutely. i'm much bummer than i appear. >> you are good. is that true? >> i'm very stupid. i have no business being on this set, believe me. >> with this collection of intellectualists. >> it's awe inspiring. >> i watched the last spelling bee on espn. >> that was dramatic. it was a good one. >> yeah. you know, as i keep watching the spelling bees, i'm getting some of their tricks with the greek and the latin. i'm actually spelling some of the words and i'm in my house by myself. i have no witnesses. you know? i got it. i gotta tell somebody. i got one of those words. >> i like the spell tactics, would you use it in a sentence? can you buy yourself more time. >> it's like that millionaire

show abc used to have. >> the lifeline. >> they knew the answer but extended it and expended it. >> yeah. building the drama. >> i'm looking at your piece in the new yorker on golfing. you're not very good? >> i've gotten better since that. once you get it out of your system. >> real? >> yeah. it seems like there's an improvement. >> nice drive. i think i'll come back tomorrow. >> your friend of 17 years that you play with -- >> yes. >> i have been e-mailing him. >> lloyd? >> yeah. >> you have been e-mailing? >> he's a nice guy. he gave me some questions. >> no. no. he's a proadvocate tor. >> yes, he is. i'm not going to entertain -- >> you don't want to engage.

>> i didn't come on this show to answer questions by lloyd brawn, who i play golf with. yes, i'm addiment about that. just one of them. by the way, i reserve the right not to answer. >> barnacle is representing me here. >> if you had to golf with three republicans in congress, who would you choose? >> mr. david does not have to answer that question if he chooses not to answer. first, fourth, fifth and 15th amendment rights. >> who would you not play with under any circumstances? >> eric cantor. >> that's not nice. >> wasn't he on the show before me? >> you don't like him? >> i don't care for him. >> is it the hair? >> the hair is part of it. policies a smidge. >> mostly the hair.

did you play golf with rush limbaugh? >> did i? >> yeah. >> no. i did not. did he have you ask me that? >> lloyd is no friend of yours. lloyd go back to sleep. let's talk about the show. >> yeah. my favorite show. get off eric cantor. >> amazing. i love curb. >> eighth season and you shot in new york. >> should i take the top off now? >> is it too hot? >> i invented the slit here. >> i love this top. >> i don't get credit for it what so ever and i truly believe i invent eed it. this was in the '70s. i was driving a cab, okay? they didn't have the slit in the '70s, did that? >> a flat top. it was cumbersome.

>> i was the first person that broke that off. i broke it with my teeth and made an indent. >> this is much later. years later. >> this is like '73, '74. >> i was a toddler. >> did you ever see one of those? >> did you think to go mass market with it? >> i have had so many great ideas that went by the wayside. >> like the spelling bee. >> would you rather have credit or the royalties? >> credit. >> i guess the royalties. >> you would rather have no credit, no one know you have the credit but get paid. >> you are matching greed with my ego. >> seinfeld covered both of

those. you didn't have to choose. >> curb your enthusiasm is true tv. one of the pivotal episodes in this year's series involves bill buckner. >> he's on the show? >> he's on the show. >> he does nothing. >> i urge you, if you don't catch any of them, to watch that one. >> i can't wait. we have a scene with one of my favorite people. >> is it bleeped? >> i don't think. we could try the delay thing again. >> let's not. >> it's bleeped. here we go. >> open up. >> all right. hey, hey, take it easy. >> listen. i need a ride. i don't want the [ bleep ]. i need a ride. my cousin's building is on fire. i need a ride. it's an emergency. >> you want a ride? >> i need a ride to my cousin's

building. drive me. give me a [ bleep ] ride. hurry up. open up. >> what's the big deal? it's a fire. >> i need to get there. it's my cousin. what don't you understand about fire. i don't want to take a cab. give me a [ bleep ] ride. what's the matter. why can't you give me a god [ bleep ] ride. >> sit in the backseat. i'll give you a ride. >> i don't want a limousine. i'm hysterical. i can't drive, i can't focus. >> all right. >> make such a big [ bleep ] deal, i ask for a little ride across town. what are you waiting for? why are you driving like a stale. >> larry explained it to me. >> it's completely out of context. i don't want to get into it. >> why not? >> watch on sunday.

>> i guess i can give that away. why not? go ahead. can i give that away? >> it's your show. >> no, let's use it as tease. >> it's funny. >> we heard in the break, it's very funny. you have to watch. back to the original question. seven or eight minutes ago. shooting in new york, better, worse. >> way more fun. yeah. the people are very vocal. they interrupt takes. you are baking in the sun for two hours more than you should be. but, no. it was fun. it's good. >> i saw suzy out at dinner i said how is it in new york. she said it's good. in the middle of a scene, you get larry!

larry! and they have to reshoot every scene. why is this the end? why don't you give us more? is this the end? will we get more after season eight? >> i don't know. >> you decide after every year? >> yeah. >> what else are you doing that you wouldn't do the show? >> i could join a panel somewhere. >> create cupping for starbucks. >> how did you get him to do it? >> i called him up. he's very quiet. he's like a cowboy. >> yeah. >> and i already, you know, we had already written the show. i needed him. so, i called him and i begged him and he said well, i'll think about it. then he said call back in a week or two. i called again. i had to have a drink for this one because i was so nervous. if he said no, my season was over. i had a drink.

i do that for women now and again. i call for a date and have a drink before the phone call. >> to loosen up? >> the phone call for the date was always impossible for me. >> isn't that phone call -- >> it's a nightmare, that phone call. >> how much would you drink? >> just enough to be able to say it's larry. so, i spoke to buckner. you know, and he said okay. i talked him into doing it. >> is wilson in the show? >> yes. he doesn't have a speaking part. you get a glimpse of him. >> it's going to be great. going to be great. >> you have a bunch of other guest stars, as usual? >> yes. >> who was the best to work with this season? >> this season? michael j. fox is on the show along with bloomberg.

>> who did you enjoy working with most? >> i'm friends with them. why are you asking me all these difficult questions. >> sorry, sorry. >> just because you are bald and wear glasses doesn't mean you get to do that. >> i'm trying to figure it out. you are an important public figure and need to take positions. >> larry david just named most improved player at the riviera. congratulations. >> is that restricted? >> the eighth season of "curb your enthusiasm" is on hbo. are you going to come back? >> i don't think so. next is a look at time magazine. we'll be right back. ♪

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welcome back to "morning joe." joining us now, assistant managering editor for "time" magazine here to reveal the new issue of the magazine. welcome. >> nice to be here. >> what is on the cover this week? >> the future of fish. you may not have known, but fish is the last wild food, if you think about it with domesticated farm animals for the last 10,000 years. we still go out in the wild to hunt for fish. we are supposed to eat more and more fish. usda upped their allowance of how much fish we are supposed to

eat. it's good for us. we have felt there are plenty of fish in the sea but of course there aren't. there's a lot of overfishing in the last few decades. this is the story of the rise of the farming of fish and how fish farms are becoming more sustainable and people are creative about the kind of fish they raise and what it means for us on the consumer side and what kind of fish we will be eating in the future. >> is it a good or bad thing that we are farming fish? >> we needed to do something about the supply of fish. fish farming like any farming has drawbacks. you can do it well or badly. if you are farming fish in a way that's not sustainable, you are actually, you know, you run the risk of phosphorous run off and nutrition run off. we look at the people experimenting and sustainable fish farming.

>> what are fish farms? what are they? >> kinds. our reporter brian walsh went to one in western massachusetts. it's landlocked. the fish never see the ocean, never see a river. they move from tank to tank. and they are born and raised there. and they are fed fish meal and they go straight from the fish farm to the market. but more and more fish farms happening in the open sea. >> so it says within the body of the story, atlantic salmon, some 90% of what arrives at tables comes from farms. more than 1.4 million tons each year. in terms of packaging, it's not really an atlantic salmon is it? if it's from a fish farm? >> that's a question for the marketers. it certainly is different. and i mean this is a source of, again, a source of concern and question for the consumer. it's like, well, what is the difference between a wild salmon and atlantic salmon. one thing i asked brian about when he was writing the story

because wild salmon is eating different kinds of food because it's in the wild. a farmed salmon doesn't have that pink color so a dye it to make it look more appetizing. >> oh, no. i hate it when that happens. >> truth in advertising in fish. chilean sea bass is from the pasaic river. >> they do that with red meat as well. >> joe klein writes in this bash the head start program. he calls it criminal. he said it's every bit as outrageous as tax breaks for oil companies, perhaps even more so since we're talking about the lives of children. what's his problem with head start? >> his argument with head start is that -- i didn't know this until i read joe's column, it was part of the original johnson war on poverty. and it was a pilot program that was tested and tested well and then it was brought up to scale. and, in fact, the results are in and it, according to joe it just doesn't work.

it doesn't have results when it's taken on to a nationwide scale. because it's a legacy of the war on poverty, it's run by the wrong department. it's not run by the department of education. it's run my health and human services. and joe's feel is that's his sort of -- that's his structural problem, one of many problems that head start has right now and just needs to be overhauled, rethought, revamped. >> so many experts we talked about in education, we can talk about the early education being the most critical. we have to do something to fix that. >> thank you so much. the new cover of "time" magazine. "the future of fish." we'll be right back with more "morning joe." >> so, ah, your seat good? got the mirrors all adjusted? you can see everything ok? just stay off the freeways, all right? i don't want you going out on those yet.

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♪ never in history has the united states defaulted on its debt. the debt ceiling should not be something that is used as a gun against the heads of the american people to extract tax breaks for corporate jet owners or oil and gas companies that are making billions of dollars because gasoline has gone up so high. >> good morning. it's 8:00 a.m. on the east coast as you take a live look at new york city. back with us on set, mike

barnacle, ezra klein and john heileman. in just a few hours, president obama is expected to meet with house and senate leaders at the white house to try and hash out a deal on raising the debt ceiling. "the washington post" reports the president is considering major changes in social security and medicare as part of a deal. in exchange for republican support for fresh tax revenue. the post says the president's plan would cut more than $4 trillion over the next ten years. we'll talk about what that really means. this is up from the original plan of $2 trillion in savings. it comes after president obama held his first ever twitter town hall yesterday where he continued to put pressure on capitol hill to get a deal done. >> i don't think we should even get to the constitutional issue. congress has a responsibility to make sure we pay our bills. we've always paid them in the past. the notion that the u.s. is going to default on its debt is just irresponsible. and my expectation is that over

the next week to two weeks, that congress working with the white house comes up with a deal that solves our deficit, solves our debt problems and makes sure that our full faith and credit is protected. >> during the town hall, the president answered tweeted questions from users all over the country, including one from house speaker john boehner. boehner's tweet saying, quote, after embarking on a record-spending binge that's left us deeper in debt, where are the jobs? here's how the president responded. >> obviously, john is the speaker of the house. he's a republican and so this is a slightly skewed question. but what he's right about is that we have not seen fast enough job growth relative to the need. we haven't gotten the kind of cooperation i'd like to see on

some of those idea and initiatives but i'm going to just keep on trying and eventually i'm sure the speaker will see the light. >> okay. meanwhile, some house republicans are showing a new willingness to talk about closing tax loopholes in the debt ceiling negotiations. speaking to reporters yesterday, house majority leader eric cantor said in part, quote if the president wants to talk loopholes, we'll be glad to talk loopholes. any discussion of loopholes must be accompanied by off-setting taxcuts. we are not for increasing revenue. cantor's comments drew a sharp response from democrats as they demand would prevent them from winning any -- did they budge? that was another way of saying no. >> imagine if democrats, they move saying no into a type of performance. but imagine if democrats said we're all for spending cuts as long as all of that money went into new spending. that would 90 compromised

proposal. >> are we so skewed we don't see it? >> the real news this morning, "the washington post," front page, ezra's newspaper and "new york times" has a similar story that says the president is going to propose at this meeting today major significant cuts to medicare, but also to social security, which is -- >> is that true? >> which is new. if he puts those on the table and republicans are still refusing to move on taxes, what happens then? >> well, i don't know what happens then but it's certainly -- the president is trying to show that he is willing to go the extra mile -- >> right. >> -- to get a deal done here. he is talking about how the -- by ruling out the notion of a short-term fix. he said we have to deal with the long-term issue here. now there are some people, i know ezra has written about this, who think, how can we deal with the long-term deficit question in the course of the next two weeks. the idea we're going to solve this problem over a 10 to 20 -- >> they have to show that they are willing -- >> the president is saying, look. i've said that we're not going to deal with this in a short-term way.

i want to deal with this in a long-term way. if you want to deal with this in a long-term way there is going to have to be some question of social security put on the table. he is i think, doing everything he can do to look like he is willing to go the extra mile and paint republicans to be totally recalcitrant so that if this thing falls apart -- god help us if it does -- we'll be able to look at them and say was willing to do everything they wanted and yet they were still not willing to make a deal. it's on them. >> ezra, then barnacle. is what the white house is putting on the table significant and real enough for the democrats to be able to say listen. we've given. now you've got to. if that's the case and i want to hear from you about that. barnacle, the president, can't fold if that's the case. >> we were already at $2 trillion in spending cuts with about $400 billion in revenue. now they are going into medicare, medicaid and social security, although it's not at all clear how deep in any of those they are going to go. but i also think we need to bring in the other part of the "new york times" story which is very strange but i'm told a true

report that john boehner in essentially a secret communication with the president said that he would be willing to raise up to a trillion in revenue through some sort of future tax reform mechanism. now at the same time, eric cantor, his majority leader saying there's no way we're going to do any revenue. this is a very, i mean, that's sort of what this deal is going to hinge on. the obama administration would like to have a deal. they'll go into entitlements to get it. but can boehner go into revenue and remain speaker. >> it was supposedly a secret meeting the white house won't acknowledge. >> barnacle in this post piece this morning, they quoted democratic official who claims to be familiar with the administration's thinking saying these moments come along at most once a decade. it would be a real mistake if we let it pass us by. they put it out there. we're serious. we want to get something done. >> john heileman is right. the president is ghifg impression, more than the impression. he's providing rhetoric to

buttress the impression that he is willing to go the distance on cutting a big deal to take us through five, ten years. not just five or ten weeks. yesterday was a good example of it. you had questions tweeted to the president of the united states. questions delivered from the real world about housing problems, about i'm losing my house, my mortgage. what we are going to do? not policy questions from washington media members. the problem is that the president is dealing with a number of people who don't live in the real world. for example, eric cantor. no matter how many times he's been on, no matter how many times we ask him about rescinding the tax cuts, he continues to define it as a tax increase. it's like saying you go to the grocery store this week. half gallon of milk is on sale for $3.25. next week it's going back up to $3.75. that's not a hike in price. that's reverting back to the

original price. but they don't live in the real world. they just don't. >> i had the center on budget yesterday run some numbers on all the debt deals in the '90ss. george h.w. bush -- >> sounds like a great deal. >> we had a great time. >> here's what i do on weekends mainly. it was really fun to get it in. george h.w. bush, that was two-thirds spending cuts to one-third taxes. cloint was a little bit more than -- a little less than two spending cuts to one in taxes. what obam has already put on the table is more like 5 to 1. so if you actually just look at the numbers, this is a much more skewed deal. remember because of the bush tax cuts we're starting from a much lower tax level than either clinton or george h.w. bush were. just on the numbers, this is very, very far to the right compared to the '90ss. >> if you look back to the '90s, this is a good measure of where the republican party has come to. there was not any controversy in fact. there was controversy about

george bush's -- george herbert walker bush's going back on his read my lips pledge but many, many republicans were perfectly willing to sign on to these deals. there was no party, complete consistency on the question that we can never discuss revenues in either 1990 or 1995, 1996. and they all did pretty well and the economy did pretty well. >> not for nothing. >> bill clinton has weighed in on this debate. he's calling republicans hypocrites. he was speaking to college students at an event yesterday. he said something has to get done on the debt right now. >> almost nobody is talking about one of the central points that everyone who has analyzed this situation makes, including the bipartisan simpson bowles commission who said you shouldn't do any of this until the economy is clearly recovering because if you do things that dampen economic growth, there's a good chance

that economic activity will go down so much that tax revenues will be reduced even more than spending is cut and their deficit will increase. >> john heileman? >> i think we should always listen to bill clinton about everything. and so, you know, that's -- if that's his view, then that should be the rule of law. >> does the president risk, ezra, as he propose these new cuts to medicare, medicaid and social security going too foor the middle and losing some of his own democrats? he's trying to get republicans to come in from the right. if he drifts too far -- >> they are playing a hard game. as john pointed out, what they want to do is prove without a shadow of a doubt that they are doing everything they can to get the yes. and they are actually succeeding. david brooks' op-ed, he said the republican party has become an abnormal party. they're being offered the deal of the century and they won't take it. you don't end up in the center. you have to be pretty much on the right. you have to be offering up the

deal of the century. when this deal goes down, i don't think you'll see a lot of happy democrats walking around. >> go ahead, barnacle. >> what happens if john boehner says this sounds pretty good. i think we can get something done and he has 60 to 70 members of his caucus say, no, no, we're not going along with this. >> if that's all he has defect, i will be shocked. >> you think there will be more? >> if he has any dollar revenue -- he had like 50 or 60 during the government shutdown. and there was no revenue in there. i would be shocked if that's the only -- if that's as far as the defections go. >> as much as we look at this and focus on president obama and his political fortunes, this is an -- all of these moments leading up to this moment and this moment is extremely important for john boehner. as you saw yesterday with this report in "the new york times" and eric cantor coming out and taking a totally opposite position. that is the leadership battle there. there is, eric cantor is waiting for the moment that john boehner tried to be responsible. cuts a deal but then causes him to lose the support of his

caucus and opens up a battle for the speakership. he is -- it's very clear that boehner is an incredibly politically precarious situation. and he's making decisions that will affect his political future and legacy going forward. almost as difficult a position as president obama. >> a very difficult position. the new hampshire voters are not satisfied with the president's handling of the economy. 40% say they approve of the president's economic plan while 56% say they disapprove. the last time more new hampshire voters approved of obama's economic strategy was october 2009. meanwhile, the backbackdrop of of this is the republican field. fund-raising figures show former massachusetts governor mitt romney leading the pack by a significant margin. romney raising $18.5 million compared to congressman ron paul's second place haul of between 4.5 and $4.6 million. closely behind ron paul, former

minnesota governor tim pawlenty with $4.2 million and former utah governor jon huntsman with $4.1 million. trailing them are former godfather's pizza ceo herm an cain with $2.5 million and newt gingrich with $2 million. michele bachmann's campaign says they will release their fund-raising numbers on july 15th. >> if we leave those up for a second. john heileman, which candidate should be mow excited about those numbers? ron paul kind of jumps out. his fund-raising is incredible. and which should be more concerned? >> i think that no one on that list should be excited about their numbers. and, you know, mitt romney just by virtue of the fact he's so far ahead of the rest of the field has least reason to be freaked out. but the story of the fund-raising, of all these numbers is the story of closed wallets and the story of how the -- >> some are waiting still. >> so much of the republican donor class is still sitting with its checkbooks closed

unhappy with the field. not writing checks. still waiting for something. i don't know what. but they have not been -- this is not a show of great enthusiasm, even though the president is politically vulnerable. the republican donor class looks at the field and says we're not thrilled about any of these guys. >> an incredible time of opportunity for both parties. >> i would just nominate for most concerned tim pawlenty. for a lot of that quarter, he was being considered in a lot of quarters actually, one of the front-runners. he was going to be there with mitt romney. he was going to be the acceptable conservative alternative to mitt romney. that pitch didn't resonate. he's a lot closer to raising the same amount of money at cain than mitt romney. >> over the weekend i saw a couple of really rich republicans doing yardwork around their homes. >> doing yard work at your home, i hope. >> they almost have like a defeatist attitude when they talk about the upcoming presidential elections in that, you know, you think there's

anybody that can beat obama? >> there's still that? >> when we come back, we'll talk to joseph finder about his latest novel and what he put himself through so he could write about being buried alive. a newspaper owned by rupert murdoch is accuse of hacking into people's voice mails. first to bill cairns with a check on the forecast. >> good thursday morning. nothing too dramatic out there. typical heat for the summertime and also thunderstorms. worst travel weather right now in kansas city. it's raining pretty good. we've had some downpours. late this afternoon, thunderstorms are possible. d.c. to baltimore. philly, pittsburgh and new york. your typical summertime storms. hot and muggy with temperatures near 90 to 95. the southeast, also expects some afternoon storms. a lot of these areas, this is just going to be a quick 20 or 30-minute shower or storm. no one is going to get washed out today. as far as the forecast for tomorrow goes, all eyes on florida. we're going to watch the space

shuttle "atlantis" on the launch pad. we're hoping to get it up. the last launch ever. 11:26 a.m. a 70% chance right now of no go at launchtime because of showers and thunderstorms. that means this launch has a good chance of being pushed back to friday afternoon or over the weekend. we'll continue to monitor that and give you an updated forecast on the florida forecast tomorrow. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks.

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welcome back. the tsa is warning airlines to beef up security after receiving intelligence that terrorists may have found a new hiding place for explosives. inside their bodies. >> wow. >> nbc's justice correspondent pete williams has that story. >> reporter: it's renewed interest in an idea for evading security. recently intercepted intelligence indicates al qaeda terrorists in yemen may attempt to surgically implant explosives or explosive components in passengers to carry out suicide attacks. >> we see this as the evolution of how they can try to defeat us to get around those layers of security we have now. >> reporter: under one scenario, the terrorists on board a plane would inject a chemical detonator into the part of the body where the device was implanted or a radio controlled detonator set off by a cell phone. the intelligence suggests it would be tried on a flight to the u.s. from overseas. airlines that fly here have been advised and airports where those

flights take off have been urged to increase security. with more physical pattowns, checks for traces of explosive chemicals. more questioning of passengers about their reasons for travel and more use of the full-body scanners in airports that have them. a former homeland security official says while there's no single piece of technology that could reliably detect something hidden in the body, such a plan would be hard to carry out. >> you don't know how the explosive would react in the body. how the impact would be affected because of the body and you don't know what effect it would have on the individual of it being in the body. so there's not a whole lot of testing you can do in advance. >> but it's more proof, terrorism experts say, that al qaeda remains focused on planes. >> it demonstrates a consistent creativity by al qaeda in yemen to try and circumvent our security. we've seen the underwear bomber, the cargo plane plot. this would be a logical progression to try to figure out another way to attack us. >> nbc's pete williams reporting. the white house says the warning does not relate to an imminent

or specific threat. the tsa says travelers heading to the u.s. from abroad may notice screeners taking additional precautions. joining us now, the best-selling author and member of the association of former intelligence officers, joe finder. joe is now out with a new spy thriller "buried secrets." >> interesting. welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> did you get the full-page "new york times" ad like you always do? >> i did. i almost brought it on the set. >> you got those with your books, too. >> no, actually. >> i just tweet out that i have a book. that's the extent of the media. what can we expect? you put these out and they go to the top of the best-seller? >> this is my first boston set novel. it's about a boston hedge fund titan whose daughter is kidnapped but he won't cooperate with the fbi because he's got something even bigger to hide. so he has to bring in a private

spy who is my series hero, nick heller, to try to find the daughter without letting the guy -- without having to involve the fbi. naturally, he's got all kinds of stuff to hide and whether he is another madoff or what, we don't know until -- well, i'm not going to reveal that. it's part of the fun. so that's -- >> interesting. >> of course, he believes that the fbi is out to get him because they think he's another madoff. maybe the fbi is too busy looking for whitey bulger. we don't know. >> you spent a lot of time with the fbi. >> yes, i did. i actually got full cooperation with the boston offices of the fbi. they were really great, terrific, and they really were looking for whitey bulger a lot. >> for the past seven or eight years they have been. >> yeah, yeah. >> not the old crew. they knew where he was. it's a complete changeover. i think they were just tired of the black eyes. they were tired of being mocked for letting, you know, mocked

free incompetence and criticized for letting him go. so they were determined to get the guy. >> the madoff character -- >> yeah. does he disrupt as many lives as madoff actually did in real life? >> yeah, the thing that i found actually was working on this book before the madoff story happened just because hedge funds are such black boxes. like they oar so unregulated. and if you are a legit business person, that's great. but a lot of bad guys use them to -- for money laundering. they've gotten ill gotten gains. often based offshore. you know, and then if you look at the madoff thing you realize, wait a second. all they had to do was make one phone call to the depository trust corporation, right, and say -- you realize no one is looking at what these hedge fund guys are doing.

so they are able to get away with so much. so my feeling is it's like ripe for fictional intrigue. >> so explain why you climbed into a steel casket. and how long did you spend inside the casket? >> it seemed like about an hour and a half. yeah, well, i decided that if i'm going to do my research right, i need to know what it felt like to be buried alive but i didn't want to actually be burr ed alive. so i called a bunch of -- >> sounds like a barnacle option. do it, but not really do it. >> i am claustrophobic. so i decided i wanted to actually get locked into a casket. so i called a bunch of funeral home director inside bos in bos. >> what did they say? >> they hung up on me. >> seriously? >> i said, hi, i'm doing research for a novel. i want to get into a casket and -- >> cold call? >> yeah. i don't know a lot of funeral directors. i finally found one in quincy who i knew him.

i should have gone to him first and i told him. he said, all right, that's weird, but sure. so i went down there. i didn't have a release word, you know, like -- they agreed to put me in one of these thick steel caskets, lock the lid. i got in. they locked me down. and i didn't have an arrangement as to when they would release me. >> what were you thinking to not make an arrangement? >> nothing. my mind was just a blank of claustrophobic anxiety. >> did you realize when they closed it that you got no arrangement to get out? >> no, because my first thought was how comfortable it is. it's amazing how comfortable caskets are and i feel like it's wasted. who really appreciates this. >> oh, my gosh. so i was lying back there and thinking, i could just go to sleep. i'm just doegs off here. i said you're losing oxygen. and that's when i began to panic. i and i said okay, enough. and there was no response because, in fact, the walls of

the steel caskets are pretty sound proof. they couldn't hear me. i was thinking, oh, man. did they like go out to lunch. did they close early. am i locked in here. i began to panic and pound. took 10 or 12 minutes for them to get me out. >> you were in there for 10 or 12 minute oos? >> yeah. >> how long of that were you pounding for? >> eight minutes. so my feeling is enough of that. enough of that research. >> this isn't just a fetish or some weird thing you have. this is tied into the book. it's one of your characters is buried alive. >> why thank you, willie, for pointing that out. >> he does now have a cask net his bedroom it's so comfortable. that's where he sleeps. >> so anyway, it's -- the daughter in this case is buried alive. and this is sort of based on a real case of a woman in florida years ago. the story called 83 hours till dawn was based on her. i don't know if you remember

this, a long time ago. i read that when i was a kid. it creeped me out. i gave it to my younger brother who developed a case of claustrophobia immediately after that. and so sort of based on that real story. also based on the idea of a hedge fund guy in greenwich, connecticut, eddie lampert, who actually was kidnapped and held in a motel for ransom. of course, the kidnappers were idiots. in that case, they used his credit card to call for pizza, right? stupid. but i just thought, well, so these hedge fund guys are pretty unprotected. what if someone actually -- what if in the case of madoff, one of his biggest investors was the scariest guy in the world? one of these russian organized crime figures who said, no, i haven't lost any money. in fact, this is a real fear during that '08 economic drop, a lot of these hedge fund guys got

threats from their investors. in one case in london, i know of a guy who these russian thugs came into his office with guns and said, you know, i want our money back. and he said we don't have it. so all this kind of came together. and i was thinking, well, it's based in reality but i still need to know what it's like to be buried alive. >> i love it. joseph finder, thank you. the new sbook "buried secrets." >> just buy the book for the fact he put himself in a coffin. we owe it to you. >> you owe it to me. >> you deserve it. >> thank you. new developments on britain's phone hacking scandal involving a top-selling tabloid. that plus business before the bell when "morning joe" returns. [ grunts ]

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♪ making the front pages of the british newspaper s today, hacking scandal involving one of their own. david cameron is calling for an investigation into news corp. police believe the widows of iraq war victims were targeted by one of the company's tabloids, the news of the world. this comes after allegations that the news of the world hacked into the cell phone of a 13-year-old girl who was

abducted and murdered in 2002. and now a lawyer who represented the family of princess diana's former lover at the inquest into her death says police have warned him that his voice mails may also have been hacked. nbc's michelle kosinski has a report. >> reporter: just how low will a tabloid go for a big scoop? >> this is disgusting, disgraceful. >> these practices have become endemic. it's not just one newspaper group. they've all been at it. >> i felt so appalled by what has happened. murder victims, terrorist victims who have had their phones hacked is quite disgraceful. >> reporter: the reaction has reached the top of british government. over the years of allegations, and convictions over voice mail hacking. starting around 2005 involving members of the royal household and celebrities. sienna miller was a victim. so was hugh grant. >> we're talking about very nasty people here. >> reporter: others named in the british press as possible

targets include kate middleton before she married prince william, mick jagger, eric clapton. now perhaps a new low, police suspect that the paper hacked into the voice mail of 13-year-old milly dowler whose abduction and murder horrified britain in 2002. while she was still missing. and that the hacker even deleted the voice mails as her mail box filled up, giving her family false hope she was still alive. >> there are no words to describe how awful this was. >> it may have also been attempted on people close to the family of missing madeleine mccann. and today on the sixth anniversary of the london terrorist bombings, those families are learning they, too, may have been hacked. >> i thought we went into our place and i didn't think anyone could make it darker. news international cannot be allowed to get away with what they've done. >> reporter: the prime minister is asking for a new investigation of the paper and its top executives. owner rupert murdoch is calling the new allegations deplorablde

unacceptable and says news corporation will again cooperate with police. private investigator glen molcare who worked for the news of the world and served time in prison for phone hacking in 2007 in a statement apologized and said there was relentless pressure. a constant demand for results. >> it is in the of interest our democracy and the public that these issues are sorted out. >> reporter: for an outraged british public there is simply no excuse. >> interestingly enough in america, we don't have this kind of journalism yet. and hopefully the american taste level is still such that it agrees. this is just a bridge too far. because it is that check and balance on everything else. the very fabric of our democracy could be put at risk. >> michelle kosinski reporting from london. rupert murdoch says he n his company will cooperate fully. rupert murdoch surnd pressure from investors as well. companies like ford motor company have pulled some advertising from that paper.

let's get a check on business before the bell with simon hobbs. he's live at the new york stock exchange. simon, quite a story in great britain. >> it's phenomenal. absolutely phenomenal. the one thing i would add, just bear in mind because of the structure of british society, rupert murdoch's papers actually are said to win general elexsc n elections. prime minister after prime minister have kept themselves very close to rupert murdoch. blair would fly over to australia to turn up at his editors meetings. murdoch has gotten away with a lot more arguably in the uk because of that political reality, willie. it's really worth bearing that in mind. burdock is everybody's friend there, despite what they say in public. >> i guess the share prices of news corp went down 3.5% yesterday on this news. >> although they were very powerful and still are very powerful, it's still a small profit center. the fox business empire here is much more important to news corp. let me just tell you. we've got some news here.

two pieces of jobless data out. first the weekly unemployment count. down slightly but still 418,000, which is well above 400,000. but the adb report, a private payroll report in advance, of course, of tomorrow's official employment report from the labor department. they may have found new traction on the recovery coming out of the summer because employers boosted their recruitment by 157,000. it's very often wrong this, but it's news as it is. >> it's an important disclaimer. it's an encouraging number but it's always wrong. we'll wait and see what the real number is tomorrow. simon hobbs at the new york stock exchange. thanks so much. that job number tell you anything? >> 157? i would imagine even if we got that there would be some public sector drag, states and local. so say it's 120. not a good number. you are barely keeping up with the population. even 200, not back to normal employment for five, six or seven years.

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any country anywhere that has its debt escalating as a percentage of its income creates doubt about its sustainability. that's why the president has fought so hard for the future agenda. has stressed when the plane is overloaded you take out some of the luggage, not the engine, not the education, not the innovation. and also there are values in how you do deficit reduction. and we don't believe deficit reduction should be done in a

way that puts all the burdens on the working poor or the middle class or the seniors. it's got to be done in a way that is shared sacrifice. and that means asking those who are most well off or have the most egregious corporate tax breaks to be part of the solution in getting deficit reduction. >> 43 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." a new study says that women have fared worse than men in the last two years of economic recovery when it comes to job growth. the trend indicates a major reversal from the recession in which women generally did better. according to pew research center analysis of data from the labor department, men gained more than 750,000 jobs in the post-recession recovery period while women lost more than 200,000 jobs during that time. in the manufacturing, retail and finance industries, the trend continues. men gained some 250,000 jobs while women lost more than 400,000 in those same industries. the unemployment rate also went

in opposition directions during this period. more men found jobs while women lost them. that's pretty stunning. the mansession was a big story when the recession began because women seemed to be able to retain jobs. >> you look inside some of the numbers where the recovery is being made. men are take lot of the jobs traditionally held by women. health care, education jobs. >> interesting. >> local municipalities. i guess it says in the piece men held 23% of health care and education jobs before the recession. now they are taking back about 40% of those jobs. so going into fields that were traditionally dominated by women. >> doesn't this sort of have to be at least -- wouldn't it have had to be a little true that you would have seen a stronger recovery among male jobs given how much deeper the recession was against men. you start with the worst possible point for men, not the best point for women or anybody in the country.

but it seems to be conflating a recovery with a trend. there are new questions surrounding exxon's handling of the oil spill in montana in which an estimated 1,000 barrels were dumped into the flooded waters of the yellowstone river. in the wake of friday's spill, exxon officials initially said a ten-mile area between the cities of billings and laurel were hardest hit. but as cleanup efforts continue, exxon has now confirmed that oil has been found as far as 80 miles down stream. montana governor brian swit zer questioning the timeline of the spill and says the company will be held accountable for it. >> exxonmobil said to begin with that it had only run for six minutes and it was controlled out of houston, texas. that grew to 30 minutes and then it's unclear whether they are now saying 48 or 58 minutes. but it's nearly ten times as long as they said initially. i don't know if it's 750 barrels or 1,000 barrels but i can tell you this. they will stay here and they will clean it up to the satisfaction of the people of

montana. and when it's done, we'll let them know. >> exxonmobil had previously told regulators the pipeline was buried deep enough to avoid being damaged. the cause of the rupture is currently under investigation. and a federal appeals court has ordered to an immediate end to ban the -- the ban on openly gay members serving in the military. a stay had previously been issued as the policy made its way through the courts. the ruling nearly hastens plans to formally scrap the policy by the end of this month. defense officials say they will submit recommendations to secretary leon panetta this week. the military has 60 days to implement the repeal once certified by the pentagon. until there is final approval, the military will not be able to discharge anyone based on sexual orientation. up next on "morning joe," a school cheating scandal that some say reveals the risk of high stakes testing. but this time it's not the students who are accused of cheating. we'll be right back.

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back to "morning joe." there's a major academic cheating scandal currently unfolding in the atlanta public school system. and the alleged cheaters are not students. nearly 200 administrators, principals and teachers are accused of doctoring the results of standardized tests. now their jobs are on the line in what's been discovered may just be the tip of the iceberg. nbc's ron mott has the details. >> reporter: it's the cardinal sin of education -- cheating. and a scathing report about atlanta's public schools says it's not the students but the adults hired to teach them who are guilty. >> that, i think is the most sinful thing that we can do. >> governor nathan deal called it a dark cloud where wrong answers were routinely changed to right ones on standardized tests. the report found tainted results at 44 of 56 schools probed, including 178 educators,

administrators and principals. >> when educators have failed toup hold the public trust and students are harmed in the process, there will be consequences. >> reporter: for years, atlanta school district officials denied cheating allegations, but a former teacher who sounded an alarm said it was met with silence and cost him his job. >> at that point it became my problem, my fault. there was nothing that was going to be pursued by the school district. >> testing scandals are nothing new, of course. though they seem to be growing in number and significance around the country, including one in the nation's capital that generated national attention. at least ten states used test scores as the primary evaluate ottar of teachers with large bonuses on the line for top performers whose students score well. >> when test scores are the only thing that matters in education, teachers feel that they have to boost those scores by hook or by crook. >> reporter: no child left behind, a 2002 law tying academic performance to federal funding has been blamed for an

overemphasis on test scores. education secretary arne duncan said high standards aren't to blame. >> what you want to do is make sure you are evaluating students each year. but the way to get good results is through good teaching. the vast majority of folks around the country do it the right way. >> that was nbc's ron mott reporting. up next, what, if anything, did we learn today? introducing the schwab mobile app. it's schwab at your fingertips wherever, whenever you want.

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♪ all right. time now to talk about what we learned today. willie? >> i learned while afghanistan is starting to find itself -- >> we're helping restore democracy. >> this is a parliamentary brawl this week. >> is that the result of our work there? >> one woman is going to throw a shoe. the other a bottle of water. they're going to have a scrap a little bit. and that's okay but it's not great.

here's how you want to do it more. we turn to our friends in taiwan. that's a pretty nice example for afghanistan if you want to look somewhere. maybe ukraine. >> i like ukraine. >> this is nice. bring a chair. introduce some furniture into the brawl. that works, too. georgia. how about georgia. the country of georgia. that's actually a city council meeting getting very aggressive. and then south korea always treats us to nice parliamentary brawls. >> i like that. holding on to the podium. okay. thank you. ezra, what did you learn? >> republicans, not huge fans of taxes. eric cantor, doesn't love revenue. >> just learned that today? >> learned a couple of things. >> larry david does not like eric cantor. >> and he's not coming back. >> he's coming back when joe is here. >> oh, good. >> and life begins anew sunday evening because "curb your enthusiasm" returns to the air waves sunday on hbo. >> i love it. >> i actually learned something else.

ezra klein today and tomorrow, 3:00, hosting on msnbc for the full hour. that's appointment tv. >> you have to watch. >> it's not going to be as funny as larry david. >> just follow the prompter. >> if it's way too early, follow the prompter. >> i'm not so good with the reading. it's "morning joe." we'll see everybody back here tomorrow. stick around for "the daily rundown" with chuck todd. >> you are looking at live pictures of the orlando courthouse where a judge will decide whether casey anthony serves any more time in jail for the guilty convictions online. it's the last major appearance in court following that gripping trial and stunning verdict for the woman found not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. it's thursday, july 7th, 2011. i'm chuck todd. we, of course, will have all the morning's top political news. president obama meets with the house and senate leaders of both sides of the aisle going for a bigger, bolder deal on the debt limit as the white house managed to put the